Powered swing

ABSTRACT

A chain-hung seat pendant from the top of a swing frame has a motor supported on the frame at the side of the top so that a crank keyed to its driven shaft rotates toward and away from a crossbar secured at its ends to the support chains near their top ends. A pull chain connected at one end to the outer end of the crank and at the other end to the center of the crossbar pulls the support chains in one direction during a portion of the rotation of the crank, the seat returning in the other direction by gravity during the other portion of the rotation of the crank. A stiffening bar may be secured to the pull chain adjacent the crank end and the other end of the chain may have a connection to the crossbar including a spring.

United States Patent Allen POWERED SWING [72] Inventor: Charles F.Allen, Camillus, NY.

[73] Assignee: Frank H. Booth, Syracuse, NY. a

part interest I [22] Filed: March 31, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 129,783

[52] US. Cl ..272/86 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63f 9/14 [58] Field of Search..272/86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 272/92 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 603,152 4/1898 Pouncy ..272/86 1,016,712 2/1912 Schilling;.;.272/86 461,541 10/1891 Bunker ..272/86 51 Se t. 19, 1972 PrimaryExaminer-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Threatice BrownAttorney-Bruns & Jenney [57] ABSTRACT A chain-hung seat pendant from thetop of a swing frame has a motor supported on the frame at the side ofthe top so that a crank keyed to its driven shaft rotates toward andaway from a crossbar secured at its ends to the support chains neartheir top ends. A pull chain connected at one end to the outer end ofthe crank and at the other end to the center of the crossbar pulls thesupport chains in one direction during a portion of the rotation of thecrank, the seat returning in the other direction by gravity during theother portion of the rotation of the crank. A stiffening bar may besecured to the pull chain adjacent the crank end and the other end ofthe chain may have a connection to the crossbar including a spring.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing figures PATENTEDsEP 19 1912 INVENTOR. CHARLES F.ALLEN ATTORNEYS POWERED swmc BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to a power-driven swing and more particularly to such a swing inwhich a lost-motion connection between driving means and the swing isprovided by connecting a rotating crank to the swing by a chain.

Powered swings heretofore known have been complicated devices in which amotor moves a support shaft from which the swing is hung or in which theswing is driven by the motor through a spring or clutch mechanism.

SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a swing constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of a top portion thereof asviewed from the right in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 33 of FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the portion shown in FIG.3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the poweredswing has a seat 11 suspended in the usual manner by chains 12 from thetop bar or transverse member 13 of a conventional A-frame-sawhorse swingsupport 14 having the usual braces 15. To maintain the swing seat 11 insubstantially upright position, shorter lengths of chain 124 ex tendfrom the back of the seat to the supporting chains 12 as shown.

As best seen in FIG. 2, a crossbar 16 is secured to the chains 12, bybolts at 17 at either end, spaced below the transverse member 13 about10 inches. The crossbar may conveniently be a pipe having flattenedends. A gear motor comprising an electric motor 19 and reducer 20 issecured to the transverse member 13, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, bysteel straps 21, extending out from one end where they are bolted at 22to the top of member 13, and by similar straps 23, extending out fromone end where they are bolted at 24 to the bottom of member 13. Bothstraps 21 and 23 are bolted at 2.5 to the base 26 of the motor 19 whichdepends therefrom. The reducer 20 is provided with a driven shaft 27projecting therefrom parallel with member 13. Motor 19 may be /4 HP. orless and the shaft 27 is driven at about 19 R.P.M.

A crank arm 28 is keyed to the shaft 27 and the outer end of crank 28has a pivot pin 29 therethrough to which a chain 30 is pivotallysecured. The crank 28 may conveniently be about 5 inches from shaft 27to pin 29 and shaft 27 may be about three times this distance fromcrossbar 16 when the swing is at rest.

A stiffening bar 31 substantially as long as crank 28 may be pivotallysecured at one end to the pin 29 and at the other end to chain 30 by abelt or other means as shown at 32.

Chain 30 is preferably slightly longer than the distance from shaft 27to crossbar 16, as shown in FIG. 3. The other end of chain 30 is securedto the center of crossbar 16 by securing means comprising, preferably, abolt 33 passing through crossbar l6 and then through a compression'coilspring 34 retained on bolt 33 by a nut 35, as shown.

Power is supplied to motor 19 by an electric power cable 36, best seenin FIG. 3, and another cable 37 leading from the motor to a switch, notshown, at one side of seat 11 may be interwoven through one of thechains 12, as shown.

When the motor 19 is energized, shaft 27 of the reducer is therebyrotated slowly and, as the outer end of the crank 28 moves away fromcrossbar 16 it comes to a point where the crossbar is pulled by chain 30toward the motor 19 causing the seat 1 1 to move in the same direction.When crank 28 passes the 9 oclock position its outer end changesdirection and moves toward the crossbar 16 and seat 11 moves by gravitytoward its starting position. When the crank reaches its 3 oclockposition its end again changes direction and moves with increasing speedaway from the crossbar reaching its greatest speed when the crank isshown at its 6 oclock position shown in FIG. 3. Meanwhile seat 11 hasmoved by. gravity to the position indicated by chain 12 in FIG. 3 and,by momentum, beyond this position.

As the rotation of the crank 28 is repeated the pull of chain 30 is fora longer duration as the swinging of chains 12 increases until thechains 12 incline to about 45 either side of the vertical. It has beenfound that the swinging of the chains becomes rhythmical with therotation of the crank 28 and the pull of the chain 30 is like the manualpushing of seat 1 l in one direction.

There is no appreciable shock or jerk on the crossbar 16 .when the pullbegins when chain 30 is secured directly to the crossbar but, to makesure, the shockabsorber effect of spring 34 in the connection betweenchain 30 and the crossbar may be added.

Each time the end of crank 28 moves toward crossbar 16, chain 30 becomesslack and allows chains 12 to move independently away from motor 19.When the crank changes direction again, it starts slowly and graduallyincreases speed so that it exerts its pull on the crossbar gently.

The stiffening bar 31 is provided to ensure that the chain 30 does notbecome entangled between crank 28. and the face of reducer 20. When achain 30 is used the chain is heavy enough so that it does not become soentangled and no stiffening bar is necessary. It will be apparent,however, that such a stiffening bar would be desirable if some othertype of flexible member, such as a rope, were used instead of the chain30.

I claim:

1. A motor-powered swing comprising a seat, a pair of elongated membersby which the seat is suspended, a support structure having at least onetransverse member to which the upper ends of the elongated 2. A swing asdefined in claim 1 having a fail-safe members are suspended, amotor-reducer combination comprising the means securing the pull memberto the mounted on the structure at one side of the transverse crossbarincluding a spring.

member and having its driven shaft parallel th t a 3. A swing as definedin claim 2 having a further failcrossbar having its ends secured to thepair of members 5 Safe comprising a metal ha! having one end shorter andspaced from the transverse member, elongated pull than the P111] meansand Pivotally secured to the Outer means, and a crank arm having one endsecured to the end of the crank arm, the other end beihS secured drivenshaft and having its other endpivotally secured v to the P f to one endof the pull means, the other end of the pull A swfhg as defined 1 h Pmeans having means for securing it to the crossbar, the means flexblemember conslsts ofa champull means consisting of a flexible member.

1. A motor-powered swing comprising a seat, a pair of elongated membersby which the seat is suspended, a support structure having at least onetransverse member to which the upper ends of the elongated members aresuspended, a motor-reducer combination mounted on the structure at oneside of the transverse member and having its driven shaft parallelthereto, a crossbar having its ends secured to the pair of members andspaced from the transverse member, elongated pull means, and a crank armhaving one end secured to the driven shaft and having its other endpivotally secured to one end of the pull means, the other end of thepull means having means for securing it to the crossbar, the pull meansconsisting of a flexible member.
 2. A swing as defined in claim 1 havinga fail-safe comprising tHe means securing the pull member to thecrossbar including a spring.
 3. A swing as defined in claim 2 having afurther fail-safe comprising a metal bar having one end shorter than thepull means and pivotally secured to the outer end of the crank arm, theother bar end being secured to the pull means.
 4. A swing as defined inclaim 1 wherein the pull means flexible member consists of a chain.